Minnesota Twins and Pitcher Matt Shoemaker Agree To Deal

[TopGunn#22]

I'm O.K. with this, though I would have preferred Tijuan Walker.  

People shouldn't sleep on Dobnak though.  He induces a lot of ground balls and weak contact and with Simmons at SS and a healthy Donaldson at 3B as well as improved "D" at 2B with Polanco, Dobnak could be in for a good year.

[AceWrigley]

 

Of Course I once thought Gonsalves was going to be in the rotation. 

Mee too. I thought he was going to have more of a MLB career than he has so far, but he is still in the Red Sox organization and might see The Show again.

[rdehring]

Great having competition for that #5 spot and this guy looks to be a solid option, if he can be healthy.

 

When I read about this in this morning's Strib over coffee, assumed it meant that Thorpe would have to be traded to avoid losing when DFA's off roster. Then I learned from those commenting above that he has one more option. That's fantastic as it keeps him around for another year to put everything ugly from 2020 behind him. Still believe he has a ton of potential, just not as excited as I was a year ago.

 

Looking more like one of Dobnak, Smeltzer or Thorpe will make the opening day roster. That puts the other two in St. Paul where they should get a lot of work and be ready if/when an injury replacement is needed.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Thorpe gets fourth option and I bet the team uses it.  He is one of the most disappointing prospects

I don't know if "disappointing" is the right word. Last season, Thorpe lost 2mph from his fastball and I have no idea why. If that velocity returns, he could go right back to being a good prospect. If this is him going forward, that's a real bummer for the guy because he can't survive in MLB with 89mph stuff.

 

Did anyone ever explain why his stuff was so dismal in 2020?

[Trov]

I am not expecting big things from him, but I do love guys like him in the organization.  They worked their butts off to get to the show.  They learned how to get it done when scouts were not drooling over them.  He just kept working and putting up numbers that team could not ignore.  They are the types of guys that will do what it takes to stick around and help the team.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

While not dancing a jig...and I'm not Irish anyway...Im OK with this. We need depth and competition. Despite all the success of our staff in 2020, even in a short 60G season, we saw the need for depth.

We know the recent injury history. The good? 25+ GS 2014-2016 and 14 in 2017, good career ERA, FIP and WHIP with a decent 8+K per 9.

I agree with GNess that past injury history does in no way guarantee future injury. I also agree this is a lot like the Bailey signing last year. And that's NOT a bad thing. Bailey had a nice rebound 2019. If 2020 had been a full season, there is a very good chance Bailey would have contributed well over at least a half year. And every season there is someone who gets over the injury bug and suddenly shines like they used to and becomes a "steal" for the team who signed them. Why can't this be Shoemaker?

Now, I would have preferred stretching payroll more to $8-10M for the HOPE of Paxton, the STEADINESS of Odorizzi or the UPSIDE of Walker and push Happ down. But 1-4 I really like the rotation we have. (Especially Happ getting out of Yankee stadium). There is still room for Dobnak, who I like, to make a difference. There is also room for Duran and Ober and potentially others over a full season.

So again, I'm OK with this move.

I really like this quote...especially"HOPE...STEADINESS...and UPSIDE". Well written Doc.

[KirbyDome89]

 

I'd much rather have somebody like Quintana or Paxton instead of Happ, as they signed at similar prices. Dobnak/Shoemaker are fine for the back end of the rotation. I would like better options than Thorpe/Smeltzer, but we are talking about the #8/9 spots.

I'm probably inclined to agree; I'd roll the dice on Paxton's injury history because of his ceiling, and I think Quintana offers the same floor as Happ with a slightly higher ceiling to boot. Ideally any of those three would take that back end spot, rather than it being a revolving door. 

 

Shoemaker has been injured and/or below average for 3+ seasons now. There's no real reason to trust Thorpe or Smeltzer, and I'm not high on Dobnak starting for any extended period of time either. I'm guessing you have Balazovic and Duran as the 6 & 7? If one or both of them could solidify a rotation spot it'd be the best case scenario, but that's a lot to ask of two guys who've thrown almost exclusively in A ball the last few years.  

 

The 5 spot is shaky, and that puts pressure on the front of the rotation that is already dealing with Berrios' trouble finishing seasons and Pineda's penchant for DL stints. Are we counting on Maeda to replicate his '20 as well? In a vacuum Shoemaker as a depth piece or ST competition is fine, but similar to what I said in the Happ thread after his signing, the issue is that these guys won't be used as such.

[Danchat]

 

I'm probably inclined to agree; I'd roll the dice on Paxton's injury history because of his ceiling, and I think Quintana offers the same floor as Happ with a slightly higher ceiling to boot. Ideally any of those three would take that back end spot, rather than it being a revolving door. 

 

Shoemaker has been injured and/or below average for 3+ seasons now. There's no real reason to trust Thorpe or Smeltzer, and I'm not high on Dobnak starting for any extended period of time either. I'm guessing you have Balazovic and Duran as the 6 & 7? If one or both of them could solidify a rotation spot it'd be the best case scenario, but that's a lot to ask of two guys who've thrown almost exclusively in A ball the last few years.  

 

The 5 spot is shaky, and that puts pressure on the front of the rotation that is already dealing with Berrios' trouble finishing seasons and Pineda's penchant for DL stints. Are we counting on Maeda to replicate his '20 as well? In a vacuum Shoemaker as a depth piece or ST competition is fine, but similar to what I said in the Happ thread after his signing, the issue is that these guys won't be used as such.

Dobnak was pretty good for an extended period last year. I wouldn't mind him starting another 10-15 games if needed.

 

Duran is definitely closer, but I don't think he will be an option for the first half of the year. I think Balazovic is still a ways out and won't be close to making the team in 2021.

 

At this point, I think Griffin Jax and Charlie Barnes are the next guys up after Smeltzer/Thorpe. Not ideal...

[specialiststeve]

 

Dudes been a boss when healthy. Solid #3 with 2 upside. He’s been around long enough to teach younger guys and knows how to pitch in Yankee Stadium. Underrated signing, let’s go.

 

Umm that was 5 years ago.... #2 upside? What you smokin' Willis? 

 

If it was a minor league deal I would be fine but a major league deal? With all the options out there he is the pick? Yikes! Front office has done a great job so they are due a mulligan... this is it.... 

[LylesCrocodiles]

I don’t understand the dislike of Dobnak as a No 5. I feel like he is a known commodity. And he started last season in our rotation. And he was our best starter for 5 turns thru the rotation. Again. I understand that this may be his ceiling but I will take it.

 

If Shoemaker can give them 100 innings I will take that too. Baseball is back to a marathon in 2021. The depth on the pitching staff is so much better than pretty much any Twins team I’ve followed. I’m just sad it took so long for our front office to invest in that depth.

[Danchat]

Gibaut was DFA’d and went unclaimed for Shoemaker’s spot. The Twins are getting good at claiming guys and then sneaking them through waivers later on... 3/4 of their claims this off-season have already been DFAd.